As My Heart Beats
by silentXtears9331
Summary: Set right after the movie ends. When Johnny and Roxanne's relationship is challenged by their absence, will they both do their part to stay together?
1. One

Johnny Blaze rode his motorcycle, Grace, all the way past the Texas border at a high speed. Thoughts of Roxanne and all that he had just left behind circled his mind like an angry swarm of bees. How long would it be before he saw her again? He could almost feel the touch of her soft lips on his at that very moment, and it was then that he began to drive himself crazy. He pulled Grace over at a gas station and called Roxanne's cell phone from his.

It rang a few times, and she finally answered.

"Johnny?"

"I miss you," he said simply

"I miss you, too, Johnny. I long for the day that we can be together again," she said.

Johnny sighed. "You're driving me crazy."

Roxanne laughed and said, "You do realize that you left about an hour ago, right?"

Johnny furrowed his brow and replied, "And so the heartache starts."

"You know, you could have taken me with you," she said. She paused and then said, into the phone, "I feel sick."

Johnny sighed and said, "I'm sorry, but if you honestly thought that I was going to ask you to come, you don't know the real me. I would never put you in any kind of danger, intentionally at least. I don't know where the road is taking me, and if I get into some kind of trouble, I don't want you involved. If anyone dies, it's going to be me."

Roxanne swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to talk without making the sadness in her voice evident to her lover. "Johnny, don't talk like that! That won't happen until we're old and gray and living in a huge house with three kids that have kids of their own."

Johnny laughed for a moment, but then said, "But, what if Mephistopholes were to come back, or send a new Rider after my tail? Who knows what would happen to me? I don't want to put you in any kind of danger. Plus, I would have to put you out of your career, and you've got a really good one at that."

Roxanne couldn't hold it back any longer. Her voice cracked repeatedly as she spoke. "Johnny, you are the most caring person I've ever known... I love you."

Johnny winced and said, "Roxy, please... Don't cry..."

"Johnny, do you really expect me to not cry?" she yelped.

"Well, no... I guess not," he realized. There was a brief silence before he spoke up again. "I love you, Roxanne."

Her voice gave way even more and she said, "I love you too, Johnny."

"I'm gonna go and try to get to where I'm going now... Okay?" he said.

Roxanne calmed herself for a short while, long enough to reply, "Okay... Call me when you're there, so I know that you're safe. Where are you going, anyway?"

"Salt Lake City," he replied. "I'm going to start looking for a job and an apartment, and maybe go out and find some new friends."

"Well, make sure none of them are girls," Roxanne replied, grinning.

"Roxy, you know me. I won't ever stop thinking about you unless we're together. I love you."

"I love you too." She clicked the 'off' button on her cell phone and stared at it, wishing she was still wrapped in his embrace with her lips pressed to his under their tree. She felt even sicker now, and she clutched her stomach and ran to her bathroom. She leaned over the toilet and prepared to throw up, but after waiting a few minutes, she walked out into her living room and turned the television on. A picture of her came on the screen; a re-run of the morning news. She watched it and noticed that her stomach looked a bit bigger than usual. She narrowed her eyes in confusion and stood up to look in the mirror. "God, I'm so fat," she said out loud. "What the hell happened to me?"


	2. Two

That night, Johnny was lying in a hotel room bed, tossing and turning. He dreamt of Mephistopholes and Blackheart, and Roxanne sitting under their tree, trying to carve over their names with a big knife. His eyes opened wide and he looked at the clock; 3:15 am. He was now worried that Roxanne had lost her feelings for him, and wanted to call her so badly that he almost couldn't stand it. He didn't want to bother her, but what if it were true? What if Roxanne had decided that she was fed up with his coming back and going away, making her fall in love all over again and then breaking her heart? 

Suddenly, he heard a motorcycle motor running outside his window. He raised his eyebrows and his eyes widened. It couldn't be, he thought.

He looked out the window and saw nothing; but it sounded like a motorcycle was standing right outside his window. He grabbed a shirt and some pants and walked outside to see what was going on. A few moments later, he heard a familiar voice.

"Hello, Johnny."

Johnny turned around slowly and pointed. "You."

Mephistopholes stood before Johnny, casually looking him up and down. "My, my, Johnny, what a pleasant surprise."

"I wish I could say the same about you. What do you want from me?" replied Johnny. "I thought I was finished with you."

"Don't fret, Blaze. I'm just here to let you know..." he paused, "About a new little friend of mine." Johnny looked around uncertainly, while Mephistopholes slammed his cane on the ground. Johnny heard a motorcycle coming up ahead from behind the alley, and when it turned the corner, he saw a man on fire riding the bike. The man stopped and stood beside Mephistopholes, glaring at Johnny.

"Let me guess..." Johnny said, "You're here to make me forcefully give back the power of the Ghost Rider. Am I right?"

Mephistopholes cackled and said, "Oh no, Johnny. Do you really think that I'm that predictable?" The devil looked at Johnny and narrowed his eyes and nodded at the new Ghost Rider, and in an instant, he transformed back into a human; one that looked just like Johnny. The fraud Johnny said nothing as he began a stare-down with Johnny Blaze.

"What is this all about? Why would you hire a new Rider that looks just like me?" asked Johnny.

"Well, my friend... I'm surprised that you don't already know." Mephistopholes slowly walked in a circle around Johnny, looking down at the ground with every step he took. Johnny's eyes followed him. "You see, this is your punishment for taking the money and running." He paused once more and said, "It happened to me once, and I'm not letting it happen again."

Johnny heaved and said, "I still don't see what you want from me."

Mephistopholes shrugged and said, "I told you that I would make you pay for what you did. So, you'll find out soon enough." He slammed his cane on the ground and vanished, as the new Ghost Rider rode off into the distance. Johnny raced back inside and picked up his cell phone to call Roxanne.

"Johnny?" she said sleepily.

"Oh God, Roxanne, thank goodness you answered," Johnny said.

"What's wrong, baby? Is everything okay?" Roxanne asked, sitting up in her bed.

"No, Roxy... Mephistopholes just showed up outside my window and we had a little chat."

Roxanne's eyes widened and she said, frantically, "Oh, no! What did he say?"

"He..." Before he was able to finish his sentence, the line went dead.

"Johnny? Johnny!" Roxanne screamed into the phone. She tried to call a few times more, but his phone went straight to voicemail. She pinched her arm, just to make sure that she wasn't dreaming. She grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and quickly changed her clothes, put her hair up in a ponytail, and grabbed her purse and ran out the door. It was now her turn to save Johnny.


	3. Three

So, the dialogue in this chapter was very difficult for me. I hope it's good, I took long enough writing it!

Chapter 3

Roxanne's vision began to blur as the tears streamed down her face. Her thoughts were consumed only of Johnny, and what had happened on the phone right after his encounter with Mephistopholes. 'Jesus, I can only imagine,' she thought. It was 3:30 am, and she was not even past the Texas border. She began to get angry with herself for no reason whatsoever. Why had she even considered letting him leave without her? If anything were to happen to him, she would be left alone forever, and wouldn't allow herself to love again, no matter how much she would want to. She had turned onto a strangely deserted road about four miles back, one she had never recognized before. It was the darkest road she had ever seen in her lifetime, and she suddenly realized that she no longer knew where she was going, and why she had even turned onto this road in the first place.

"How much longer could this road be?" she said. She continued on for about two more minutes and saw a sign that read 'Dead End' and heaved a sigh of relief. When she got to the end of the road, she saw a figure of a man in black with a cane before her. She realized who it was almost immediately and didn't dare to try to run from him. She stopped her car and started breathing heavily and quickly, her eyes wide with fright. He looked into her eyes from about five feet away and walked slowly to her car. Roxanne said nothing as he opened the passenger door and sat down beside her.

"Well, what a pleasant surprise this is," he said with an evil smile.

"What - did you do - with Johnny?" she said worriedly, still looking straight ahead. She didn't dare look him in the eyes.

"Well now, I don't suppose you know, do you?" Mephistopholes replied. Roxanne turned her head towards him and looked him straight in the eyes and saw angst and hatred held within them.

"Why can't you just let us be?" Roxanne pleaded, her eyes glazed over with tears. One fell and Mephistopholes brushed it away with a single finger. Roxanne glared at him. "Don't touch me."

"Oh, Miss Simpson. I can't just simply leave him be. He has something that belongs to me, and I have a right to get back what's rightfully mine."

Roxanne shook her head and said, "Why does it matter if you could make a new rider? And even so, you know that nothing can stop him."

"I highly doubt that, Miss Simpson." He paused and then said, "He beat me once, but Blackheart and his allies got in my way. Now that I have some new accompaniment, I shouldn't have the least bit of problems with bringing him down. I don't fly solo, that much I've learned."

"What do you want from me?" she asked.

"I'm just here to let you know what's going on," he said, looking out the side window at nothing.

"You haven't told me anything," she said, her voice shaking.

He grinned and said, "My new rider will burn Johnny to the ground. We can't have a beautiful young lady like you," he paused, touching Roxanne's face, "In any kind of danger."

Roxanne jerked her face away. "I would rather die with him than without him."

"Oh, nonsense. You can't be serious," the devil said, looking at her strangely. Roxanne said nothing. "The way I see it is that you have two choices. You could go back home and lead a nice, new life, and start over with someone new and normal," he paused, "Or you can resume your search for your precious, beloved Ghost Rider, and put yours and his life both in danger."

"I don't want someone new," she replied. "He means the world to me."

"Very well, Miss Simpson. Don't say that I didn't warn you." With that, Mephistopholes opened her car door and disappeared into an evanescence of darkness.

Roxanne's heart was beating twenty miles a minute as she drove back the way she had come, her tears flowing faster than an angry rainfall. She couldn't let the devil play tricks on her mind like that; Johnny was a perfect example of this. She knew that Mephistopholes would probably do something drastic, but how could he possibly do anything to make her want to stop looking for her lover?

She tried to push her troublesome thoughts to the back of her mind. She wanted desperately to sleep, but she couldn't and wouldn't be able to without knowing that Johnny was okay. She turned on the radio in an attempt to stay awake, and flipped through a few stations before finding a good one.

She drove for a few more miles, and saw that she was running low on gas. She knew that there was an inn and gas station nearby, so she decided to stop there for the night. It was too dangerous to be driving alone at this hour, and she found it uncomfortable.

She got in at about 4:15 and decided to pump her gas in the morning out of safety reasons, even though she couldn't understand how anybody could find her the least bit attractive at the moment. She got into her room and was surprised at how clean and tidy it was. She smiled as she looked at the pajamas on the bed, for she hadn't brought any sort of change of clothes with her. She changed her clothes and, before crawling into the big, queen-sized bed, tried once more to call Johnny's cell phone. It was no longer shut off because it rang, but there was no answer. She sighed and put her phone on the nightstand and lay down in the bed, longing for the touch of Johnny's hand on her waist and his body up against hers as she slept. She let a warm tear fall as she pulled the covers above her head and shut her eyes, her thoughts plaguing her mind, making it difficult for her to fall asleep. Hopefully, she would find him tomorrow, if not soon. Until then, she knew that she wouldn't be sleeping as well as she would like to. 


	4. Four

This one will be short, but I don't have a lot of time to update right now. Sorry. Enjoy!

Chapter 4

Roxanne awakened from her sleeping state and looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table; nine o' clock. She hadn't gotten much sleep, she knew; but it was enough to get up and moving to look for Johnny. She didn't have the faintest idea of where she would go next, but one thing she knew was that she needed to go back home and pack some bags that would last her for a few days.

She arrived at her house about forty-five minutes later and keyed her way in. She rushed her way around the house as best she could, but not so much as to forget something important, like her toothbrush, make-up, or hairbrush.

"I can't believe I was so stupid to forget to pack bags in the first place," she said out loud to herself. She rolled her eyes and turned on the television in her bedroom as she folded her clothes, hoping to hear something interesting. Her phone rang about two minutes later, and her heart jumped into her throat, hoping it would be Johnny.

"Hello?" she said into the receiver.

"Hey, Roxy." Her heart sank when she heard the voice on the other end. It was just Stuart.

"Oh. Hey."

"Well don't be too excited to hear from me. Geez," he said.

"Sorry. It's just that I was expecting a call from someone else."

"And who would that be?"

"Johnny..." she said, trailing off.

"Oh. What's wrong? Did you two break up?" Stuart said.

"No, no, no. It's just... He went missing... He called me last night at about three o' clock and started flipping out about Mephistopholes coming to him and talking to him about a new Ghost Rider, and he started to say something, but the line went dead. I haven't talked to him since. I'm so worried, Stuart."

"Don't be, Roxy. I'm sure he's okay. He's Johnny Blaze! If he can get through a ring of fire, he can beat the devil. He did it once, didn't he?"

"Yeah, but... I don't know. I'm still worried. I've always been worried about him," Roxanne said.

"You have nothing to worry about, Roxanne. He'll be fine. So what are you doing?"

"I'm packing some stuff so I can go out and look for him," she replied.

"So I'm guessing you won't be at work for a couple of days, then?"

"Definitely not. There's no telling when I'll be back, but I'll call you and let you know when I find out."

"Okay, that works for me. Good luck! If you need anything, let me know, alright?" Stuart said.

"Thank you, Stuart. You're the best." She clicked the off button on her phone and walked into the bathroom to grab the rest of her things. Forty-five minutes later, after packing her bags, showering, and making herself look presentable, she made her way out to her car with three tote bags in hand. By eleven, she was in New Mexico. 


	5. Five

Roxanne had arrived in Salt Lake City by one o' clock that afternoon, and had gone everywhere searching for him and had found nothing. She tried to call a couple more times, and he didn't answer. It was now going on eight o' clock at night, and her stomach told her that she needed food, and she couldn't hold her bladder any longer. She drove around for about fifteen minutes and saw a bar, loaded with motorcycles. It wasn't like Johnny to be in a bar, but she was hungry and wanted a drink. She parked her car, stuck some money in her pocket, and walked inside.

As she walked, she scanned her eyes over all of the parked motorcycles. None of them were Johnny's.

The bar was crawling with men, all of them staring at her womanized figure as she walked, and she didn't dare turn around to see who was staring at her backside. She looked a few of them in the eye and from the tables near the entrance, she heard wolf whistles and crude comments, and received an unwelcomed set of shivers up and down her spine. She rolled her eyes as she thought to herself how immature and pig-like some men were.

Roxanne walked straight to the bathroom, surprised at how clean it was when she walked in. As she finished and washed her hands, she looked at herself in the mirror, stepped back a few steps, and turned sideways. What she saw blew her away once again, and she scrunched up her face in frustration. 'I'm getting fat! What's wrong with me?' she thought. She rolled her eyes and felt a sudden rush of nausea and had to run back into the stall to throw up. The smell made her sicker, and once she was done, she flushed the toilet and washed her hands once more before walking out.

She found a stool all the way against the wall with three more seats in between herself and a big man that stared at her as she sat down.

Roxanne glared at him and said, "Can I help you?"

"You sure could," he said, elbowing his buddy in the arm. "If you know what I'm saying." He began to laugh, and so did a few other men sitting around him.

Roxanne rolled her eyes and could feel herself blushing. She couldn't help but wish that Johnny were by her side. None of these men would have dared to say a word to her if so, and she almost wanted to cry because she missed him so much.

The bartender, a woman with blonde hair and tight clothes, walked down to her and said, "Hey, sweetie. What would you like?"

"Just get me a beer, thanks." The bartender nodded her head and walked over to the cooler.

Roxanne received her drink after about three minutes. She took a sip and then put her elbows on the table, cradling her face in her hands. A worried look came across her face. The only thing she could think about was him, and whether or not he was safe and thinking about her. She wished she didn't have to go on like this; it wasn't normal for a woman her age to have a boyfriend that had to leave her in search of his destiny.

She heard the bar doors open and turned her head, and it was then that their eyes met. Roxanne's eyes lit up and she ran to Johnny, throwing her arms around his neck. But he didn't return her gesture.

Roxanne looked into his eyes strangely, and couldn't help but notice that something seemed different about him. She said, "It's nice to see you, too."

"Yeah, yeah. Get away from me," he replied strictly.

"Johnny, what's wrong with you? Are you okay?" she said, taking his hand in hers. "Why did your phone line go dead the other day?"

He pulled his hand away and snapped at her. "It didn't."

By now, Roxanne knew that the whole bar was probably staring at them, but she couldn't let this go. She had to know what was going on with him. "What happened, then?"

He rolled his eyes and said, "Nothing. I just didn't want to talk to you."

Roxanne's eyes began to fill up with tears, but she held them back the best she could. She didn't understand. "Johnny... Why are you acting this way? Do you not recognize me? Have you been drinking? Did you take a blow to the head?"

"No, my head is fine and I haven't been drinking. The only thing I recognize is that I don't love you anymore," he yelled.

Roxanne felt her heart sink into her toes, and two tears fell from her left eye. "W-- Wh-- What?"

"You heard me, Roxanne," he said angrily.

Roxanne could feel her heart completely breaking in two. She couldn't think of anything to say to him. "But... Johnny... I lo--"

"Quit your blubbering. I've heard enough. We're through," he interrupted. "Don't make me tell you again."

Roxanne couldn't hold her tears back any longer. All of them fell as she ran out the door and into her car.

'I can't believe this is happening,' she thought to herself. 'It can't be happening.' Suddenly, as she stepped on the gas pedal, she saw it all flash before her eyes. Their plans, all that they had shared, all the love that she had given him; gone. As much as she hated to admit it, her father had been right. Johnny was just a phase, even after all these years. She couldn't believe that she had wasted working time, gas money, and her heart's call to receive nothing but a rude awakening and a broken heart when she finally found him.

She picked up the phone and called Stuart. He didn't answer, so she left a message. All that was said was, "I'll be home soon. Don't call me back, I'll call you." She knew that she had to talk about this to someone. She couldn't talk to her parents because they didn't know of Johnny being the Ghost Rider. The perfect person popped into her head almost instantly; Carter Slade. She had never met him before, but she had heard stories of him that Johnny had told her. He would be the only one that could give her a reasonable explanation as to what was going on with Johnny, and maybe he would know of Mephistopholes' plan of the new Ghost Rider.

Her tears didn't stop as she drove. Why would he do such a thing to her? This was so unlike him. She thought that everything was fine; at least, it had appeared to be the day before. She didn't know that it was possible to lose your love for someone practically overnight. And what was he thinking, breaking up with her and saying hurtful things like that in the middle of a bar, embarassing her that way? It was cruel and unusual, and she knew that she didn't do anything to deserve it.

Then, their night popped into her head. The night they had become lost in each other, and Johnny professed his love to her physically. Her hormones raged and that was the night she had determined how they really felt about one another. She couldn't believe that she had done it now, and she regretted it. She was angry with herself, and she didn't know why. All she did was love him. She had never hurt him, that she could remember. Even if she had, he would always tell her if she had hurt him in any way, and she did the same for him. It was a promise they had made.

She stopped at a red light and looked in the mirror. By now, she had cried all of her eye make-up away, her eyes were bloodshot, and she had huge bags under her eyes. Her physical features were upsetting her, and she flipped the mirror flap down and pushed it away. She didn't want to stop and sleep for the night and wanted desperately to be in her own bed, but she knew that she had to. She stopped at a Holiday Inn and got a room for the night, and by nine o' clock, she was asleep, her dreams plagued with her almost true love and their perfect relationship that was now broken. 


	6. Six

**Chapter 6**

"Well, well, well, my friend. Looks like everything went according to plan." Mephistopheles said, eyeing Johnny. The devil had taken him to a dark alley right beside the bar that Roxanne was just in, and had forced Johnny to watch everything that the fake had just said to Roxanne.

"How dare you! You just made me... Well, not exactly me, but... I... He... She got her heart broken!" Johnny yelled.

"Precisely," Mephistopheles said. "Now she won't get in my way."

"What was she doing before? She didn't come with me on this journey. Why would you do something like this?" Johnny asked, his eyes full of hurt and confusion.

"Johnny, Johnny, Johnny. You just don't understand."

"You're right, I don't. What makes you think that I would have pulled Roxanne into any sort of trouble or danger that you would cause me? She doesn't deserve this, and neither do I."

"I didn't say that," Mephistopheles said, walking in a circle around Johnny. A bolt of lightning flashed, and Johnny saw the devil's demonic shadow displayed on the wall as he passed by. "She would have known if anything were to happen to you. You would have tried to call her, or she would have seen it plastered all over the news stations. Now, since you two are over," he paused, "She simply won't care any longer and won't want to come after you."

Johnny's eyes welled up with tears, and he looked up at him with anger in his eyes. He yelled at the demon, trying to mask his hurt. "You son of a--"

"None of that. Cursing isn't very nice," Mephistopheles pointed out.

"You've got nerve," Johnny said. Another bolt of lightning flashed, and suddenly, the tape that was keeping Johnny restrained was gone, and he wondered how Mephistopheles did it. Johnny quickly whistled for Grace, but there was no revving of a motor anywhere to be heard. All Johnny had to do was look at Mephistopheles for a brief moment before he spoke up.

"Come now, Johnny. You don't really think that I would let you get away so easily, do you?" He started to walk away, and motioned for Johnny to follow him.

They walked in silence for about two minutes before he led Johnny to another alleyway. Grace was tied up with tape all over, and Johnny said nothing as Mephistopheles cackled. "You know, if you want your bike back, all you have to do is--"

"Forget it," he replied.

"But, how else will you travel? And it was your father's..."

"Don't you dare say anything about my father!" Johnny yelled.

"Very well, Blaze. Follow me."

"Why should I?"

"What else will you do? I have to babysit you, remember?" Johnny sighed; he was basically the devil's prisoner now.

"Where is the other Rider?" Johnny asked.

"I don't know, and I don't care as long as he's doing his job. Don't worry about him."

"The only person I'm worried about right now is Roxy. You're not going to hurt her, are you?"

"Believe me, Johnny. I already have."

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The next morning, Roxanne woke up at five o' clock. She hadn't slept much the past night, and didn't go for two hours throughout the entire night without waking up and thinking about Johnny. She looked at her nightstand, hoping for a voicemail, missed call, or text message from him, telling her that it really wasn't over, but there was nothing. Her waterworks started over again as she undressed herself and got in the shower. She hated this. She had never been so sad before in her entire life, and that was no exaggeration.

Roxanne finally arrived back in Texas after a long day of driving. She was very tired, but she had decided to go to the doctor's office because of the way she had been feeling lately. She had been nauseous, throwing up, and dizzy, and had been getting a little bit bigger in her stomach area. She was worried about herself, and she wanted and needed to find out what was wrong with her.

She walked up to the front desk and told them that she was a walk-in patient. "Well, sweetheart, you're in luck. He happens to be free right now, and our next appointment isn't for another half hour. You can come on back right now," said the woman behind the counter.

"Thank you so much," Roxanne said, itching the back of her neck as she grabbed her purse off the counter and followed her to the exam room.

"You just wait in here for a few minutes and the nurse will be right in," she said. Roxanne smiled and nodded at her as she closed the door. She examined her surroundings, and noticed the borders around the top of the wall. They were black with red and orange flames. They reminded her of Johnny, and she tried to contain herself the best that she could.

"Hey there! How are you today?" the nurse asked, walking through the door.

"I could be better," Roxanne said smugly, keeping her eyes locked to the ground.

"Aw, not feeling too good, huh?" she asked Roxanne.

"Not really."

"Well, we're going to see if we can fix that problem today. So you said you've been feeling nauseous and lightheaded?"

"Yeah. The whole nine yards," Roxanne replied. "I don't know what could possibly be wrong."

"Alright. This kind of illness doesn't sound like anything that's treatable with medicine, so I'm just going to let the doctor come in now and let him deal with you," the nurse said. Roxanne nodded, and her heart started to race. There must have been something seriously wrong with her if the nurse had never seen any sort of normal symptoms for something like this. _Why me?_ she thought.

"Hey there, Roxanne," said the doctor. "I don't want to freak you out, so I'm just going to come right out and say it. Okay?"

Roxanne's eyes grew wide. "What's wrong with me, doctor?"

"We're not sure yet. But we are going to give you a little test to see."

Her heart calmed down a bit. Hopefully it was just a simple urine sample or something. "Oh, okay. What kind of test did you have in mind?"

"A pregnancy test."

Roxanne's eyes grew wider than they were before, and her heart started to beat more as well. Her head began to hurt, and she felt sick to her stomach. The doctor could tell that she was upset, and offered her his hand. "Don't panic, and don't draw any conclusions just yet. Don't worry. I'm going to go get the test ready, okay?"

"O-Okay," she said faintly.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roxanne sat down in the waiting room, awaiting her results from her pregnancy test. The thought of being pregnant with Johnny's child would have been happy and welcoming a few days before, but now, it would just make things even worse than they already were. She knew that if she were pregnant, she would have to tell him, but she didn't even want to think about talking to him right now. What would he say? What would he think?

She heard the door open and watched the nurse walk through. She called her name, and Roxanne felt as if she were walking the plank to her death as she followed her.

She walked Roxanne towards the doctor, and he was holding something white in his hand. It had a stripe on it, but she couldn't indicate what it meant; she had never taken a pregnancy test before. Finally, the doctor spoke up.

"Miss Simpson, your pregnancy test is shown to be positive."


	7. Seven

Roxanne couldn't believe what she had just heard. She was dreaming. She had to be. How could this possibly happen at a time like this? She couldn't find the words to say to the doctor. She just looked at him with sad eyes and started bawling. The doctor looked at her understandingly.

"You're not happy about it?" he asked.

"I've been far from happy since yesterday," she replied. "My boyfriend and I just broke up."

The doctor's eyes widened. "So, you weren't married to him and you made love to him?"

"Yes," Roxanne gulped. "We had talked about all kinds of plans for our lives, and I thought that everything was fine," she said, her voice shaking, "But now I know that I was wrong."

"Well, people make mistakes like that. Everything happens for a reason, just remember that. I'm sure he had a good reason of breaking up with you, didn't he?"

"No, actually, he didn't," Roxanne replied. "Two days before, he was talking to me on the phone, telling me that he missed me and loved me. Then, last night, I ran into him at a bar, and he told me it was over right in the middle of everyone."

The doctor gulped, and his eyes widened more. "Oh, Miss Simpson, I'm so sorry..."

Another tear fell, and Roxanne said nothing.

"And now, I'm pregnant with his child, and he's only going to hate me more now."

"Oh, don't say that. Why don't you call him and tell him that you need to talk to him, and tell him about the pregnancy?" the doctor said.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Roxanne said. "What are the odds that he would apologize and everything would be perfect again?"

"I'm not saying that he would. But, sometimes, a big thing like this has to happen in order for someone to realize how much the other person is really worth, and how much they really mean to them," the doctor said. "Who knows? Maybe having a baby will be the perfect thing for you two."

"Only in my dreams," Roxanne mumbled, sitting down in one of the chairs in the foyer. "We're not even married. I'm too afraid to talk to him now..."

They sat in silence for about three minutes before the doctor spoke up once again. "It's so hard to see you sitting here crying your eyes out, Roxanne. Your eyes are about three times their normal size," he joked, wiping a tear from her eye with his thumb.

Roxanne half smiled. She had known this doctor since she was very young, and she had always thought that he was attached to her in some way. He had always been there for her if things went wrong, and knew about her and Johnny's teenage love, but he didn't have any knowledge as to who her current boyfriend was, and she didn't plan on telling him unless things were to get absolutely serious.

"Thank you, doctor," she said, hugging him tightly. "I'll be sure to call you sometime soon." And with that, Roxanne got up and walked away, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue that she had grabbed on her way past the front desk.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Johnny sat down in the chair that Mephistopheles had instructed him to sit in. He told Johnny that he had some serious news for him, and had called the new Rider in as well.

"Hello, Johnny," said the devil, walking through the door with the new Rider at his side. Johnny glared at them as they sat in different chairs opposite of him.

"Why have you brought me here?" asked Johnny, surveying the walls and chairs inside the strange cave he was in.

"Well, nothing major, I guess. We just don't have anywhere else to go," Mephistopheles said.

"You know what? You are the most inconsiderate human being I've ever met," Johnny said, addressing the devil.

"Well, what do you expect?" mocked the Rider. Johnny glared at him, and he glared right back.

"Stop it, you two. Let's all get along," Mephistopheles interrupted.

"You're kidding, right?" Johnny said, staring the devil down. He looked at Johnny, then simply turned away when Johnny's phone began to ring. He handed the phone to the imposter, and put the phone on speaker. Mephistopheles told Johnny to keep his mouth shut or else, and he did what he was told. The Rider put the phone on speaker and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Johnny?"

"What?"

"We need to talk." Roxanne's voice on the other end of the receiver hurt Johnny so badly that it was almost too much to bear, and it took everything he had inside him not to make any sudden movement.

"About what? I already told you--"

"I know, Johnny. But this is important, and it's something that you really need to know. Regardless if we're dating or not," Roxanne interrupted.

"Okay... Go ahead, I suppose," he said, scandalously looking at Johnny. Mephistopheles joined him, and Johnny could tell that they were both holding back laughter. He wished he knew what she was about to say.

"Johnny, I'm... I'm..."

"Spit it out," the Rider said, holding the phone out at arm length. Johnny winced; he couldn't take the pain that they were causing her.

"Johnny, I'm pregnant."

Johnny's eyes grew as wide as saucers, and he swallowed the reoccuring lumps that kept appearing in his throat. The Rider looked at Johnny and said, into the receiver, "Let me call you back."

"You don't care, do you?" Roxanne said. "I knew it."

"Let me call you back," he repeated and hung up the phone. They both looked at Johnny, and could tell that he was in pain.

"So, Johnny. What are you thinking right now?" Mephistopheles asked.

"I'm thinking that nobody has ever hurt me more than you two just have," he said. Mephistopheles gave him a confused look, as did the Rider.

"What are you saying, Johnny?" asked Mephistopheles.

"I'm saying what you think I'm saying. This life isn't worth living if I don't have Roxanne by my side. You already took away one of my loved ones years ago," Johnny paused. "I lost her once, and I'm not going to lose her again." He stood up and finished his sentence. "You can have the powers back. I'm through with you and your little games. I'm not playing with you anymore," Johnny said, grabbing his phone. "Don't you say a word until I call Roxanne and tell her about it, either." Johnny glared at them as he walked by them and went outside, dialing her number.

She answered after four rings, and when she picked up, Johnny could tell that she had been crying. "Hello?" she said, her voice shaking.

"Hey," he said. Roxanne noticed something different in his voice, but she didn't dare question it at the moment.

Roxanne said nothing and waited for him to speak. "Roxanne, we have a lot to talk about."

"No kidding," she said, wiping a tear from her eye.

"I need you to come down here. Now."

"Where is here?"

"On second thought, I'll come to you," Johnny said, standing up from his sitting position on the ground. He looked around for Mephistopheles and the imposter and saw nothing.

"Johnny, I'm not sure that I can handle looking at you right now. I'm using all of my emotional strength just to talk to you right now as it is," Roxanne said.

"Roxy, I'm coming for you. Are you at home?"

Roxanne was surprised at the authority and seriousness in his voice. "N--no," she stammered, "But I will be by tonight."

"What time?" he said, walking towards the alley where Grace was.

"I should be there by nine fifteen, ten at the latest," Roxanne said.

"Okay. Meet me at my house as soon as you get home. I'll be waiting for you."

"Johnny? I need to ask you a question."

"What would that be?" Johnny asked quizzically.

"What makes you think that I can trust you will be there?" Roxanne said. Johnny was silent for a moment before speaking up, and Roxanne could tell that he was thinking about what to say next.

"Roxanne, I really want to tell you what happened in person. The guy that's been telling you all of these horrible things... It hasn't been the real me," Johnny said. "And it's very important that you know what's going on."

"Alright, Johnny. Whatever. I'll see you tonight," she said defeatedly.

Johnny sighed and said, "Okay. I love you."

Roxanne rose one eyebrow and didn't reply. She flipped her phone shut and sighed, rubbing her stomach gently for a brief moment, picturing what was inside. A tear fell onto the white blouse that she was wearing, and thoughts of Johnny ran through her head endlessly. She was too confused for words at the moment, but she knew that she had to show up at his house tonight. She put on her sunglasses and began to drive, knowing that she would have to drive fast and take shortcuts if she was going to make it to see Carter Slade before she was to meet Johnny later that night.


	8. Eight

**This one will be sort of short. I don't want to put the story together too much.**

Roxanne arrived at the cemetery where Carter Slade worked at about nine o' clock that night, and as she walked towards the house he spent a fraction of his time, she felt a sense of fright. Dark cemeteries at night didn't exactly make her feel comfortable.

She heard rustling coming from behind her, and she turned around quickly and saw nothing. "Hello?" she said, her voice shaky. Hopefully, he would hear her, and wouldn't scare her in any sort of way.

"Who's there?" said a raspy voice. She knew it must have been him.

"Are you Carter Slade?" she called out to no one, turning her head in different directions repeatedly.

She saw him walk out from behind a tree, and he approached her.

"Yes ma'am. This is private property. You're not allowed to be here at this hour," he said, looking into her eyes. Roxanne almost felt eerie inside, but she said nothing.

"Sir, I'm Roxanne Simpson. Johnny's girlfriend."

"Oh! Well, in that case, come on in," he said, motioning for her to follow him. Roxanne knew that he wouldn't harm her in any way, but for some reason, she still felt a bit frightened and intimidated in his presence.

"So, what brings you here, Miss Simpson?" Slade asked, sitting down on his bed. Roxanne took a seat on the chair that was in front of the bed, surveying her surroundings. She noticed that he had a window similar to one that Johnny had at his place.

"Please, call me Roxanne. And I'm here because I have a serious question to ask you."

"Well, I'll do my best to answer it, Roxanne," he said, setting his shovel down against the wall and looking at her.

"It's Johnny. He left to go on his Ghost Rider journey, and the other day, I ran into him at a bar and he broke up with me in front of everyone. And then, I call him the next day and tell him important news, and all of the sudden he's saying that he needs to meet me back at his house to have a long talk. I'm just really worried, and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. To tell you the truth, I'm actually a bit scared."

Slade sat and stared at her in dumbfounded, his eyes wide with awe. He waited a moment before speaking. "Mephistopheles definitely has something to do with this," he said, standing up to walk towards his desk. He flipped through a few books, and Roxanne watched him, not saying anything.

"What could he possibly do to make him say such hurtful things, and then make him do something confusing like this?" Roxanne asked.

"Well, I've never seen or heard of anything like this before. There has to be a logical explanation, though. There's nothing about this sort of thing in my books, and it holds all of Mephistopheles' plans for the world and all that he's been through..."

"It's a stupid book!" Roxanne yelled, standing up. "How could you expect it to know everything?" She threw her hands up in the air and paced around the room as she continued her sentence. Slade watched her in amusement. "The author was probably some crazy guy suffering from mental retardation and wrote that book because he was bored and decided to freak people out and mess with their minds!"

"Roxanne!" he yelled, catching her attention and making her realize what she was doing. She held his gaze as she sat back down. "What I'm saying is that Mephistopheles has a new trick up his sleeve, and that I don't know what it is. Plus, if this book was fake, how do you think all of the stuff that's happened has actually happened?"

"Coincidence," she mumbled, hanging her head to the ground and playing with her hands. She knew that he was right, but didn't want to admit it. Carter Slade walked over to her and sat down beside her on the bed.

"Roxanne, don't worry. I'm sure that his intentions are good, and that you have nothing to worry about." He took her hand as a friendly gesture and looked into her eyes. "His love for you is like nothing I've ever known or even heard of. That man risked his life for you, and has put your safety and feelings first through everything that he's done. People make mistakes. If you love him, you have to trust that you mean something to him, and you have to have faith that everything is going to be okay. That man will stand by you through everything that you do... You just have to do the same for him."

Carter Slade's words captured Roxanne's heart, and she tightened her grip on his hand as a tear fell from her eye. "Thank you," she said, smiling at him. He returned the smile, and waited for her to start talking again. He could tell that she was holding something back. The floor held her gaze, and her hand felt clammy, a sign that she was barely sweating.

"You're holding something back," he said. Roxanne looked up at him with semi-sad eyes. "I can tell."

Roxanne contemplated telling him about the pregnancy, and decided that she could trust him. "I can trust you, so I'll tell you." She paused for a moment and another tear fell. "I'm pregnant with his child."

Carter Slade sighed and said, "When did you find out?"

"Yesterday."

"Does he know?"

"Yes, he does... And that's the thing that kills me the most..." Her tears fell strongly now, and Carter Slade squeezed her hand once more.

"If he didn't care about you, he wouldn't have told you that he needed to talk to you. I want you to be brave and go home to talk to him. You can make it work if you have faith. I want you to remember that as you drive to his house and work everything out." He paused long enough to wipe a tear from Roxanne's cheek. "Alright?"

Roxanne half-smiled at him. "Okay. Thanks again," she said, getting up from the bed and walking towards the door.

"Wait. Let me walk you to your car. You seemed a little scared at first."

"Thank you!" she exclaimed. "I was."

She drove for about ten more minutes, and as she drove up to his house and parked her car in the all too familiar alleyway, she saw Johnny's bike parked in its usual spot. Her heart skipped a beat and she got butterflies at the thought of seeing him again when they weren't on good terms, and as she got into the elevator and pressed the button that led her upstairs, an unexpected tear fell from her eyes and landed on her foot.


	9. Nine

Johnny heard the elevator coming up to his floor, and he stood in front of the door, waiting for Roxanne to arrive. His heart skipped a beat and his stomach began to do flips as he saw her face come up from behind the wall, and it was almost as if he had forgotten how beautiful she was in three days' time.

Roxanne watched his every move as she walked towards him, and Johnny could tell that he would be the one to speak first. She stood before him and looked him in the eye, and Johnny noticed that they were bigger than they usually were.

"Roxy... We have a lot to talk about," he said, moving his hand towards hers, trying to grab it. She refused, and he casually put his arm back by his side as she followed him to his sitting area.

"Tell me about it," she mumbled.

"The first thing I'm going to say is that I love you with all of my heart, and I would never hurt you intentionally. I thought you knew that."

"Well, I did at first. But then, you pull a stunt like this. What do you expect me to think?" Roxanne said, once again looking down at her hands, playing with them.

"I want you to look me in the eyes," Johnny said. Roxanne didn't say a word, but did as she was told uneagerly. "I'm afraid that you won't believe me if I told you what's been going on, and I hope that you still trust me. Because... Roxy..." he paused, "Like I said before... The man that you've been talking with ever since I left... It hasn't been me."

"What do you mean, 'It hasn't been you?' And of course I'll believe you. You told me that you were the Ghost Rider and it was true. Why would I not believe anything else you say?"

"Well, I don't know. I guess I just wanted to make sure."

"Oh," she said quietly, fixing her gaze to the photobooth picture from their teenage years.

"I don't want you to think that I don't trust you or anything, because I do," he said.

"I know, Johnny."

"Well, good. We have to start somewhere."

"Yeah, I guess," she said, standing up to look around the house. She walked to his bed and sat down, and he followed closely behind her.

"Listen, Roxy. What I meant by 'It hasn't been me' was literal. You wouldn't even begin to imagine what I've been through in the past two days."

"I'm listening," she said, looking him in the eyes. Johnny felt a piece of his heart melt within him at the fact that he had hurt her so badly.

_Here it goes_, he thought. "I don't even know where to start. You know the night that I had called you at three in the morning and told you about my encounter with Mephistopheles?" Roxanne nodded. "Well, that was the night it all started. He brought along his new Rider."

Roxanne's eyes widened, and she looked at him, telling with her eyes that she wanted him to go on.

"And when I called you, my phone went dead all of the sudden. It was fully charged the night before, and when I picked up the phone to call you, there was a full battery."

Roxanne was speechless, and she didn't have to say a word to make it evident to him. For a moment, they were both silent before she spoke up.

"What happened after that?"

"The Rider is the cause of all of this. Roxy, he looks just like me. He's a duplicate." Roxanne hung her head and shook it from side to side in disappointment and frustration. "I don't know how. Mephistopheles told me that he didn't want you in the way, so he--"

"What do you mean, 'In the way?'" she interrupted.

"I had to ask him the same question. He said that if I didn't care about you anymore and you didn't care about me anymore, if anything happened to me, you wouldn't bother to come out and try to find me or help me."

"He's so wrong... No matter how close we are or what kind of relationship we have together, I would always come out looking for you if something went wrong... Especially if it concerned your safety." Roxanne choked back tears as she spoke, and Johnny reached for her hand. This time, she didn't even remotely pull away.

"I know, Roxy. But there's more to the story. He gave all of my belongings to the imposter except my bike, and he sent him to the bar to 'break up' with you," he said, using air quotes. "And he made me watch the entire thing. It was so painful, Roxanne. I love you entirely too much, and I want you to know that I'm sorry for pulling you into this."

"What do you mean? You didn't pull me into anything. It wasn't you, remember?"

"No, Roxanne. I mean pulling you into this whole mess so many years ago."

"Are you saying that you're sorry for falling in love with me?" she asked, her eyes misted over with tears.

"No..." he said, hanging his head to the ground. "I'm sorry that _you_ fell in love with _me_."

Roxanne let a tear fall as she squeezed his hand, signaling him to look at her. "Johnny, don't ever say that! Sure, we have our ups and downs, but everybody does. It doesn't matter to me that we have to be apart for a while. Ever heard of the saying 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder?' That's exactly how I feel."

"I wish I did, but it just doesn't seem fair that you have to go through this. I'm nothing special..."

Roxanne shook her head, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Johnny, you are nothing but special to me. You are my everything, and falling in love with you has been the best experience of my life. You are worth all the pain I've received, because I know that your intentions are good and that you love me for who I am. And I'm willing to stand beside--"

"Oh," he winced, an almost painful look on his face. Grabbing her face in his hands and gently pulling it towards his, they kissed repeatedly and passionately, her hands moving across his back as he stroked her hair. Roxanne began to explore Johnny's mouth, and their tongues wrestled as he reached for the zipper on her jeans.

"Johnny, wait," she said, pulling away gently. His lips tugged on her own a few times before parting, and he looked at her uncertainly.

"What is it?"

"I'm pregnant, remember? I don't think we should get carried away..."

Johnny's eyes grew wide. He had completely forgotten until now. "Oh my God," he said, wiping the excess saliva from the sides of his mouth as his eyes grew wide. Roxanne looked at him as if he were going crazy. "Oh my God," he repeated, beginning to sweat. "Roxy, I completely forgot! I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed.

Roxanne stood up and walked towards him, grabbing his left hand with hers and touching his face with the other. "Johnny, it's okay. You don't have to apologize. I know how scary it must be for you."

"What if the baby doesn't like me?" he asked.

Roxanne furrowed her brow. "Why wouldn't the baby like you?"

"I don't know." Roxanne could tell that something was bothering him.

"What's wrong, baby?" she asked, moving her body closer to his, snaking her arm up to rest on his shoulder. His left arm gently gripped her waist as the other one stroked her hair, their bodies fitting perfectly together.

"It's just... I don't want to hurt you, Roxanne, but... I just hoped that we would be married for a couple of years before having children. I wanted to enjoy our life together before it happened. Do you know what I mean?"

Roxanne pulled her head away from his chest long enough to look at him and reply, "I feel the same way, Johnny. But there's nothing that we can do... It was our mistake, and I guess this is our way of learning from it."

"But, don't you take birth control?" he asked.

"Yes... But I had stopped taking it when all of that insane stuff with you and Blackheart and everyone started to happen. I was too stressed, and I never had time to take it at the correct time of day," she said, her voice hushed in a clearly disappointing tone.

Johnny sighed. "It's not that I'm unhappy, because I'm not... Well, I just don't know... I guess I'm a little of both."

"Exactly," Roxanne agreed. "And I won't get an abortion; they're horrible."

"Yeah, definitely. Why does making babies have to feel so good?" he asked, looking into her eyes mischeviously. She giggled and kissed him once more. Their lips parted and Johnny smiled, and it was the biggest smile Roxanne had thought she'd ever seen. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up in a warm embrace, and she closed her eyes, wanting the moment to last forever.

"I hate having to do this... It's just not fair," Johnny whispered in her ear. Roxanne placed her arms around his neck and looked at him, his hands resting on either side of her waist.

"You hate what, Johnny?"

"I hate being with you one moment, and being without you the next. That's what I mean." Roxanne gave him a somewhat helpless look.

"Johnny, it's your destiny. We can make it work," she replied.

"Roxy, I'm just not sure if I want to risk it..."

"What are you saying?" she asked confusedly.

"I'm saying that I hate this stupid power. I can't believe that I made that deal in the first place. If I hadn't, none of this would have happened. We could be married right now, and happy. But instead, we're going through turmoil and unending amounts of heartbreak. It just doesn't seem fair to you..."

Roxanne smiled. "You did it for the right reason." Johnny gripped her face with his hands and brushed the tear that slid down her cheek away, looking into her eyes lovingly. "I love you, Johnny. Trust me when I say this; I love you enough to wait for you, and I love you enough to see where our fate takes us." She buried her face in his chest and he stroked her soft hair, the steady beating of their hearts reassuring them both that everything was going to be okay.

The only reply he gave was a soft whisper in her ear; "I love you too, Roxanne."


	10. Ten

**Sorry for the delay in updating. I've been quite stuck on this story. I know that I said that I had the rest planned out, but then I decided that it was a bit cheesy, and I'm updating as I get ideas now. I'm not sure how long it will take for the next update, but please be patient, and you will be rewarded with a nice, chunky update. (Idk)**

**I won't be able to update at all this weekend. I have family coming down, and they're more important than my FanFiction. I also apologize that this one will be a bit short, but I don't have a lot of time and I have to save some more ideas for the rest of the story. Nevertheless, please enjoy, and don't forget to review. I accept anonymous reviews, so there is no reason not to leave a review.**

Chapter 10

As Roxanne lay beside him that night, Johnny noticed that their bodies fit together perfectly. He had never noticed before, and he questioned himself as to why. Perhaps it was because he fell in love even more each time he saw her, or perhaps it was just the distractions around him; but the only thing he didn't question was that he loved her, and he would do anything to be with her.

He knew what he had to do, and he contemplated on whether he should bring Roxanne with him. It would be another journey that would put his life at stake as well as hers. But if he didn't bring her with him, who knows what Mephistopheles would do?

"Roxanne?" he said, shaking her gently. She gave no reply, but her body moved ever so slightly to the other side, her hand resting on his chest as her head fit perfectly under his. He shivered at her touch, and wanted to lay there forever. He gently kissed her lips, and her eyes fluttered open.

"Johnny? What's the matter?"

"Roxy... I don't know how you'll feel about this, but... I have to leave again. And this time, I'm going to give you the choice of coming with me or staying." She started to talk, but he interrupted. "And before you make your choice, I want you to remember that both of our lives or our relationship could be put in danger. Remember the talk we had earlier?"

Roxanne nodded. "I understand, Johnny, and I most definitely remember. Honestly, you're the sweetest person I've ever known, and I can't believe you're all mine. But... Even though your offer is generous and it goes against your wishes to make me happy, I think that it's best that since I'm... You know, pregnant... I think that's it's probably best that I stay here..."

There was a moment of silence before Johnny spoke. "You're right. The last thing I want is to lose my girlfriend and my unborn child." Roxanne smiled and stroked his ear with her fingers, gently kissing him on the lips before laying back down in the bed.

"Do you have to leave now?" she said, wiping a small crust from her eye as she glanced at the bedside clock. It read 2:30 am.

"I think that I probably should. I can't sleep anyway, and I won't be able to until this business is finished."

Roxanne frowned as she sat up in the bed, kicking the covers off of her legs. She crossed her legs Indian style and Johnny lay his left hand on her bare knee, cupping her face with his right one. "I love you, Roxy. I'll be back soon. And I promise that when I get back, all of this nonsense with waking you up in the middle of the night will come to a permanent end." They shared a laugh.

Roxanne touched her hand with his, and he grabbed it, lacing their fingers together. She looked up at him as a tear rolled down her cheek, and Johnny's heart felt like it had been temporarily stabbed.

"Don't cry, Roxy. I'll be back as soon as possible. I promise. I've done this before, and I can do it again. I'm Ghost Rider."

"I know, but it doesn't make things any less scary. I love you, and we're going to have a child to raise in almost nine months. We still have to get married and everything. What if you don't come back, and I'm left all alone? Who's going to want a pregnant woman as their girlfriend or wife? Nobody. And I'll be stuck all alone with a baby to raise by myself. This is just so scary, Johnny."

"Roxanne, I know. But you're not having faith, and that's the thing I need you to do for me right now. I need you to be strong. Can you promise me that?"

Roxanne didn't reply and only squeezed his hand tighter. She knew that he was right. "I promise. Why are you leaving, exactly?"

"I'm... I'm going to tell you why I left when I get back." Roxanne looked at him confusedly. "You're going to have to trust me."

"Of course I trust you, Johnny... It's just that it's a bit awkward that you won't tell me. Don't you think?"

"Yes, I understand where you're coming from. But if everything goes as planned, it will be a happy day when I return and I can put my plans into action. And I have some pretty big ones."

"Johnny, I don't know what you have up your sleeve, but hopefully we'll both end up happy," she said, her sly look transforming into a soft, concerned one.

Johnny grabbed her waist and pulled her close, her head resting on his chest. She closed her eyes and savored the moment, not knowing how long it would be before she would feel his touch again. He gently stroked her knee with his thumb. "You can trust me on this. We will be the happiest couple on the face of the planet." He buried his face in her hair, noticing the faintest smell of coconuts and a hint of lime. "But I have to leave now."

Roxanne let another tear escape before gathering herself together. "Alright. Go out there and be my hero, baby."

He got out of bed and circled around to the other side, grabbing nothing but his bike keys. He gently kissed her once more before leaving her with a set of keys to his house. "I love you."

"I love you too."

She watched him walk out the door and a lump grew in her throat as she lay back down. Staring at the imaginary patterns in the ceiling, she contemplated on what sort of thing was going to happen to him... To them... And whether or not she would see him anytime soon, or ever again.


	11. Eleven

**I got kicked off the computer during weekdays, and I only get it on weekends for a while. It will be a while in between updates, but you'll just have to wait (:**

Chapter 11

Johnny rode towards New Mexico once more, knowing that Mephistopheles had to have stayed there since he left. Where else would he go? Johnny's thoughts of his future plagued his mind as he went eighty miles per hour down the freeway, wishing with everything in him that Roxanne was behind him, her arms slinked around his waist, her head laid upon his back. He could almost feel her behind him, wondering how long it would be before he would return to her.

He knew that he wanted to get rid of his power and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Roxanne happily. Life is never worry-free, but without his curse, it would be less worrisome than it currently was, and he knew that the both of them; or should he say, the three of them; would be happy.

He rode on all night and stopped at the mouth of the cave at about five in the morning, hoping that Mephistopheles hadn't left. He could barely hold his eyes open as he walked into the cave, using his power to light a torch on his thumb so that he could see where he was going. He walked on some more until finally, he saw the devil and his fake Rider sitting in chairs, both silent.

"Well, well, well," the devil said. "What have we here?"

Johnny turned out his light and walked closer to Mephistopheles. The fake Rider stood up, ready to defend.

"I changed my mind," Johnny said. "I don't want this power anymore. It's causing too much pain for my life and the ones I love."

"Oh, Johnny..." the devil said, circling around him. "Do you think this is a wise idea? What about your father? What would he think?"

"He would want me to be happy. I know that to be a fact."

"Are you sure, Johnny? You care about a woman more than you care about your father?"

"The only thing I know," Johnny said, walking closer to Mephistopheles, so that they stood nose to nose, "Is that I know my father better than you do, and that I'm through with being stuck in the past. I'm not letting you ruin my life anymore. You've done enough damage already. Now, take your damn power back before I humiliate you once more."

Mephistopheles stood speechless, eyeing the floor and the fake Rider back and forth repeatedly. "Johnny, I won't let you do this. I don't go down that easily. Haven't you learned that already?"

Johnny rolled his eyes. "You son of a--"

The fake Rider stood up and walked towards him, his hand clenching gently around Johnny's throat, stopping his sentence.

"If you can defeat my Rider," the devil said, "I'll take the power back. But if not..." he looked around, obviously trying to add effect onto his next sentence. "You get to stay with me forever."

"You've got a deal," Johnny said, the spikes on his leather jacket beginning to stand up one by one. He instantly burst into flames, his skin transforming to bones. The imposter Rider let go of Johnny quickly, and he stepped back, ready to face off.

Johnny unwrapped the chain from around his shoulder, twisting it around in an airborne circle. He didn't know how he would fight fire with fire, but he knew for certain that it wouldn't be easy.

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Later that morning, Roxanne woke in a cold sweat, noticing that it was now daylight outside. She was surprised at how well she had slept, considering the fact that Johnny had left once again.

She stood up slowly, noticing that her stomach felt odd and that her head felt heavy. At that moment, she wished the thing growing inside of her stomach wasn't there.

She went out into the kitchen and popped two pieces of toast in the toaster, and while she waited for it to finish, turned on the television to the news channel. She noticed that there was a news report being broadcasted, and the sight she saw before her eyes made her heart sink. She sat down on the couch, waiting to hear the worst.

The camera scanned over the city of Salinas, New Mexico, half the town burned to a crisp. She knew what must have happened before the news broadcaster began to speak.

"News Channel 47 got an emergency call last night, with word of two mysterious creatures that were on fire dueling it out throughout the city of Salinas, New Mexico. We have actual footage of the duel caught on tape, and we'll be showing that in just a minute. But before we do, we'll show you an interview with a woman named Deborah McHannigan, who supposedly claims to have seen one of these creatures before."

The woman came onto the screen, and Roxanne recognized her immediately; it was the same woman with the dark hair and eye makeup that she had once interviewed about the first big city battle of Johnny's.

"I saw one of these creatures in Texas about a month ago. One of them, even though I'm not sure which one it was, saved me from a robber that had threatened to slit my throat if I didn't give him my bag that I was carrying. I don't think they mean any harm, even though I can't be too sure..."

Roxanne watched the people's lips move, but she couldn't comprehend what they were saying throughout the rest of the news broadcast. She couldn't help but think that something terrible had happened to Johnny, and she wanted to know if he was okay as soon as possible. She didn't know how, which troubled her, and as she watched the footage of the battle on the television screen, a tear fell from her cheek. She recognized which of the demons was Johnny by the way he fought, and she saw that he was getting thrown around and wounded badly.

She heard the toast pop out from the toaster, and it took everything she had in her to be able to find her way around the kitchen through the mist of tears that stung at her eyes.


	12. Twelve

I'm so sorry for the delay, but my computer crashed. I'm only allowed on the Internet on the weekends, because my grades suck, and I'm not afraid to admit it. Please forgive me and review.

Chapter 12

"You can't do this!" yelled Johnny, the handcuffs around his wrist blistering his skin as he struggled to get away.

"Come on, now," the police officer said, his grip firm on both of Johnny's hands. "Don't make this any harder than it already is."

Before Johnny knew it, he was slammed into a private, solitary cellar, sitting on the hard bed with his head in his hands. He couldn't possibly think of anything else that could go wrong. He couldn't believe that he had lost the battle. How would he possibly be able to live a happy life with Roxanne and his child if he was a horrible monster? How would he be able to support his small family if he was never home and always busy? The thoughts scared him, and he let a tear fall freely, not caring who saw.

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The next morning, as Roxanne drove to work, she asked herself many questions. Where was Johnny? Was he alright? Was he on his way home, or was he still negotiating or battling? But the most important one of them all was this; Was he even alive? She knew that she shouldn't be thinking of things like that at a time like this, but her worry overcame her, and the tears began to trickle down softly. She could almost feel her heart breaking into two, wishing that he would just come home, wishing that none of this had ever happened.

As she walked into her office, many people waved and smiled at her, but she took no notice. It was bad enough that she had to be here at all, but she couldn't stop working just because her boyfriend was off somewhere. If she didn't start making more money now, how would she be able to support herself? She had already missed almost a week of work, and she knew that she couldn't do it any longer.

She heard a knock at the door, but said nothing as Stuart walked inside.

"Well, I'll be! It's Roxanne! Where have you been?" he said, taking a seat in the chair beside her.

"Oh, it's nothing important, Stuart. Just... Things."

"Well, it must be pretty darn important for you to miss five days of work... You know you can tell me anything, don't you?"

"Stuart." She looked up at him, her eyes piercing, her eyebrows arched. His eyes grew wide but instantly shrank back down after a moment.

"Alright, alright. Don't do anything you might regret. Do you want to hear the plan for the day?" he asked.

"Well, that's my job, so that would be a yes."

"Okay..." he said, turning away, not wanting to look her in the eye. "We're going down to the dog pound on 51st Street in about an hour. They're having a free adoption tomorrow from eight to five. Hopefully we'll get some kids in there, since there will be a little bit of time after school."

"That's good," Roxanne said, nodding her head and picking up a pen. "I'll use that."

"What do you mean?"

"The whole 'Hopefully we'll get some kids' thing. I'll use that in my news bulletin."

Stuart furrowed his brow. "Don't you usually come up with your own words when you do those?"

"Yes, but I can't think straight today. Just go along with it. It's not a big deal," she said, tucking the pen behind her ear and shoving the paper pad in her purse. She picked it up and walked past him, but he grabbed her hand, stopping her.

"Roxanne, I want to know what's going on. Maybe I can help."

"You can't help, Stuart. Really."

"It's Johnny, isn't it?" Roxanne gave no reply; instead, she looked down at her feet, trying to choke back the tears. "I knew it. Roxanne, in my opinion..."

"I didn't ask you for your opinion," she snapped, raising her head up to meet him. Stuart was wide-eyed again in a matter of seconds.

"Rox, I don't understand. I've known you for four years, and I've never seen you like this. Something must be devastatingly wrong for you to be acting this way," he said.

"Don't say that. What if there IS something devastatingly wrong? What would you think then?"

"Well, I guess I won't know since you won't tell me," he said. "And, if you tell me, I'll be able to apologize for it."

She waited a moment before speaking. "I guess it's really not that big of a deal..."

"Okay, here we go. Looks like we're making some progress now..." he said, the tone in his voice itching her to go on.

"He's just gone again, Stuart. I mean, he didn't leave me or anything, and he didn't intend for it to be forever, but you just never know with him."

"What do you mean 'he's gone?' Why did he leave again? Where did he go?"

"I... I don't know," she replied honestly. "I really don't know."

"You have to know something, Roxanne." She was often amazed at how much he understood her more than she understood herself.

"All I know is that he left because he wanted to protect us," she said. But after she realized what she had just said, her eyes widened and her heart began to beat faster.

"What do you mean 'us?' Who else is there to protect but you?" She didn't reply; she simply didn't know what to say, or how to tell him. "Roxanne... Are you..."

One look was all it took for him to guess. 


	13. Thirteen

Chapter 13

"I knew it, Roxanne! I knew it! Why wouldn't you tell me?" Stuart yelled.

"Because..." she mumbled, "I didn't know how to tell you or how you would react. I was afraid..."

"Of what?" he interrupted. "Do you think that people would disown you because you're pregnant? Babies are a wonderful thing!"

"I know they are, but... It's Johnny's kid, you know? I mean, what would people think? Everybody knows who he is now, and the kind of stuff that he does, and how he lives his life. What would people think if they found out that I was pregnant with his child? We're not even married..."

"Roxanne," said Stuart, putting his hands on both her shoulders, "If you love him enough, you wouldn't care what anybody thinks. He loves you enough to do that, and your true friends won't disown you. I know I won't."

Roxanne smiled. Her eyes welled up with tears, but she held them back as she swallowed the small lump in her throat. "You're right. I do love him enough, and I believe that we can make this all work. It's just so hard... I mean, he's the Ghost Rider. How will he help me raise this kid if he's randomly off somewhere? I can't just tell him to stay home... The fate of the entire world might be in his hands."

"I know, Roxanne. I don't know what else to tell you except that everything will work out eventually. You just have to be patient."

"Yeah... I know. I just wish I knew where to go from here," she said, sitting down gently in her chair, her head in her hands.

"Why don't you go see that Carter Slade fella? I'll bet he could help you."

"That's a good idea, Stuart... I guess I'll have to go after work," she said.

"You need to go now if you feel like you can't make it through the day. I'll cover for you," he said.

"No, Stuart, I can't leave now. I can't afford to lose any more income than I already have. I have to provide for myself and start providing for this baby."

"Well, okay, if you say so. We need to get our stuff together. We have thirty minutes until the news broadcast."

"I'm ready when you are," she said, giving him a fake, forced smile. He returned it and walked out the door. As soon as he was out of sight and out of earshot, Roxanne's waterworks began once again.

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As Johnny flipped through the channels on the television during his free period, he still couldn't comprehend that he was actually in jail. He had been here for two days now, and he shuddered at the thought that sooner or later, it could be two years. But what he saw after flipping through a few more channels really set him off.

It was Roxanne, live on News Channel 11. She was in front of 51st Street, which was coincidentally right across the street from the jail. He was so close, yet so far. With every passing second that he watched the screen, he felt the hole in his chest grow wider.

He didn't understand it. Why did all of this have to happen to him... To them? Why couldn't he live a normal, happy life with the white picket fence, a beautiful wife, and perfect children? He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't pay attention to the news bulletin, but he didn't care, and as quickly as she had appeared, she was now gone.

"Roxanne Simpson," said somebody from behind Johnny. He turned around and saw a tall man standing a few feet away, shaking his head back and forth, his arms crossed. "She's hot, eh, buddy?" He slapped Johnny on the shoulder.

Johnny began to grow angry. "Watch out, buddy. That's my girlfriend you're talking about."

"No way, really? You're a lucky dude. Half the men in the world want her for their own," said the man.

"Yeah, I know I'm lucky... Too bad I'm stuck in here instead of with her," said Johnny.

"I know what you mean. What are you in for?" he asked.

Johnny thought a moment before answering. He didn't know if this man knew anything about him being the Ghost Rider, and he didn't want to tell anybody that didn't know. No one else needed to know. "I... I stole something."

The man laughed. "What did you steal?"

He knew he had to make something up. "I tried to hot wire a car at a sale."

The man laughed even harder this time. "That's pretty funny. What's your name?"

"Johnny," he said. The man stuck out his hand.

"I'm Benny. Nice to meet you." Johnny willingly shook his hand. He couldn't believe that this man didn't recognize him as Johnny Blaze, the supposedly evil Ghost Rider, but frankly, he didn't care. He knew that he might be here for a while, and he knew that he may as well make some friends if so. 


	14. Fourteen

Chapter 14

"Slade?" yelled Roxanne, quickly running to the shed from her car. The light was on, but when she got into the rest house, Slade wasn't there. "Hello?" she called out, hoping that he was somewhere nearby. All she heard was the wind rustling through the trees and the faint chirping of crickets. She felt an eerie loneliness rush past her, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. She noticed goosebumps building on her arms, and tried to tell herself to calm down. What's the worst that could happen out here? Who would want to come to a cemetery at night, especially one filled with thousands upon thousands of graves?

She heard the shouting of what sounded like five or six teenage boys. She saw that they were running towards the rest house from one of the windows, and she quickly ran out the back door. Thankfully, the shed wasn't locked, so she quickly ran inside, closing and locking the door behind her. She remained quiet, trying to listen for them. The last thing she needed was mouth or something worse from teenage boys.

"I don't see it!" shouted one of them.

"Keep looking!" shouted another. Roxanne saw a flashlight go by one of the windows from her sitting position on the floor. She felt her stomach tighten and she held her breath. She didn't understand why she was so afraid, but she was, and she was going to trust her instincts.

"It's so damn dark out here, Randall," one of them said. "How do you really expect us to find it?"

"Just shut up and quit complaining. The longer you spend talking, the longer it's gonna take!"

There was silence. Roxanne felt the sensation of someone watching her, but she knew that was impossible. She would have seen them outside the window.

"Hey, look! I wonder what's in here," said one of them. The doorknob began to jiggle slightly, and Roxanne could feel her heartbeat with every breath.

"Yeah, it's not like we'll find the grave in here. It's a shed." Roxanne furrowed her brow. A grave? Which grave were they looking for? And why were they looking for it?

"Oh, yeah. I'm sure it's some big, scary animal that's going to rip our heads off. There's probably nothing in here anyway."

"Then why are you looking? You're just gonna get us all in trouble, Jordan. What if the old man sees us?"

"Does it look like he's here to you? Geez. You guys are a bunch of pussies," said the boy Roxanne thought to be Jordan.

"Well, it's locked anyway," said one. "Let's just go. We can look for it tomorrow. Randall and I have to be home in thirty minutes or I'm toast."

"Oh, wahh," said Jordan. Roxanne imagined him wiping a fake tear from his face with his hand. They began to talk more, but as they walked away, their voices faded. Finally, after a few more seconds, they were all gone.

Roxanne reached for the doorknob, her hand shaking violently, her head pounding with every step she took. She twisted it to the right, but it didn't open. She began to panic and twisted it the other way, but it still wouldn't open.

Her blood boiled and her heart started pounding again. She was locked in. But that was impossible! How could she be locked in if she locked herself in, and the lock was on the inside? She smoothed the surface with two of her fingers, and gasped when she saw that the lock had completely disappeared.

She backed up to the wall, but before she could reach it, she felt two hands began to slink slowly around her waist from the back. Her eyes grew wide and she quickly headbutted whoever it was that grabbed her, but she missed. A hand flew up to cover her mouth, the other securely fastened around her wrists. She tried to scream, but the sound was only muffled. Before she could do anything else, everything went black.

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The next morning, as Johnny was laying in his bed, he heard a voice. "Mr. Blaze?" Johnny rose his eyebrows and stood up, walking over to the bars, wrapping his fingers around them.

"Yes, sir?"

"You're free to go."

Johnny couldn't believe his ears. He blinked and raised one eyebrow. "I am?"

"Yes. We were just informed of your heroic antics in your hometown a few months ago," he said, unlocking the jail doors. They slid open slowly, and Johnny watched them. "You should have said something in the beginning."

"I didn't want to make things any worse than they already were," said Johnny, walking alongside the man as they walked to the main entrance. "You guys would have thought I was nuts.

"You're probably right. I'm not sure that I even believe it now. What exactly is a Ghost Rider?"

Johnny knew that he couldn't tell him precisely. He barely knew the man. "It's a long story. I'm not sure that I even know what I am."

The man laughed. He led Johnny to the front desk to receive his phone and his few belongings, and before he knew it, he was out the door and back into the world. He paused in mid-step, scanning his eyes around the somewhat foreign land, breathing in the fresh air through his nose and out through his mouth several times. He went around to the alley where he left Grace and smoothed her handlebars and her leather seat, thankful that nothing had happened to her. He hopped on and rode away at a steady, slow speed; the last thing he needed was a speeding ticket.

He paid close attention to where he was going. He wanted desperately to go home, but he knew that he needed to find Mephistopheles. He refused to let the devil ruin his life any further, and he was determined to get rid of the power that damned him to internal, spiritual hell. He would do anything to be rid of it.

His eyes grew wide after thinking about something more serious; Roxanne. He knew that he should call her immediately, so he decided to run home and relax for a while. He needed it, and he would just call her from there. For the time being, he would forget about Mephistopheles. He had had enough of him for a while.

Johnny got home and called her, but her phone was off. It wasn't out of the ordinary for her phone to be off during her work hours, and at first, Johnny didn't worry a thing about it. But after a while, he noticed that his stomach began to churn and goosebumps grew on his arms. He worried, not knowing why he felt this way. He couldn't keep her out of his head, although that wasn't unusual, and he felt himself wishing that she were by his side once again, her arms around his neck. He wanted to kiss her forehead and her soft lips; wanted to run his fingers through her soft, brown hair; wanted to lace his fingers with hers. He missed her more with every passing second, and a tear fell down his cheek lightly, his heart in a fierce battle between love for Roxanne and hate for Mephistopheles. 


	15. Fifteen

I'm not giving any excuses for the delay this time. Just forgive me for waiting so long, read, and enjoy.

Chapter 15

Roxanne couldn't stop the tears that ran down her face as the pain shot through her body. She could feel that the wounds on her face and arms had dried, and for that, she was thankful. Her sweat lingered, refusing to trickle even the slightest bit. She was oblivious to the fact that his sweat was dripping on her as well. She knew that, eventually, the pain would transform to pleasure, but she couldn't allow herself to enjoy it in the least bit. Thoughts of her unborn child and her boyfriend ran through her head, but it was difficult for her to focus on anything besides what was currently happening.

The pain suddenly lifted, and she felt numb. She wanted desperately to scratch, slap, or punch him, but her hands were restrained by the handcuffs she was imprisoned in. The muscle was beginning to pull, and it was very painful. She screamed, the sound extremely muffled by the thick tape that was constricted around her mouth. He grinned widely, his forehead wrinkling, his eyes squinting to the point where Roxanne could barely see them at all. Suddenly, she couldn't control herself. Her eyes grew wide and she moaned, feeling more sweat trickle down her forehead slowly. Two minutes afterwards, it was all over, and the tears rolled again.

He bent his head down close to her ear and whispered, "What did you think of that, baby?" She glared at him, not even attempting to say a word. He straddled over her, beginning to slink his hand from her thigh slowly up to her completely bare chest. He gently fondled her breasts, and Roxanne couldn't help fantasizing about Johnny. She wondered where he was, longing for his touch.

Then, as if by magic, the window smashed open, and there he stood. His Ghost Rider image in play, her heart fluttered despite her surroundings and a smile crept slowly across her lips, with just a faint hint of displeasure and fear in her eyes knowing that she was finally saved.

Johnny threw a gargatuan fireball at the enemy. He slammed into the wall, the sensation knocking him unconscious. Johnny ran towards Roxanne, melting the handcuffs. He gently peeled the tape off of her mouth and kissed her violently for a few brief seconds.

"Oh, Johnny," Roxanne said, uncontrolled tears spilling over. "I can't believe you're okay! Where have you been? Get me out of here now! This is so embarrassing..."

Johnny didn't say a word as he threw her her clothes from the floor. Roxanne knew that he must be upset, but she hoped that he wasn't upset with her. Johnny sweeped her off of her feet before she could get her pants zipped all the way and sprinted towards the door.

She was put onto the bike slowly; Johnny was careful not to hurt her, not knowing if she had been physically harmed. He climbed on Grace and Roxanne crept her arms around his waist the best she could. He turned around, snapping a helmet on her head quickly. He spun around and pressed the gas pedal, speeding out of sight before the man woke up.

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Roxanne had fallen asleep by the time they got back to Johnny's house. He carried her inside, laying her down on his bed carefully. He gasped when he saw her face and arms, covered in small, dried flesh wounds. His flaming skull began to cool, and when she opened her eyes and gently touched his face, he was normal again.

"J-Johnny?" she stammered, feeling fatigued. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, Roxy, it's me," he said. His voice cracked, and he hoped she didn't notice the tears beginning to pool in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I can't be too sure..." she said, struggling to hold herself up by her elbows. With Johnny's help, she was able to sit barely upright, her head and shoulder against his chest. He stroked her hair gently.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"Oh, Johnny, it was horrible!" she said, her head bolting upright to meet his. "I went to the cemetery to see Carter Slade, and I heard some teenage boys coming. So I went out the back door and snuck into the shed and locked the door behind me... Then they left, and everything went black. Then, the next thing I know, I'm handcuffed and I have tape over my mouth and..." She couldn't even finish her sentence before her voice cracked and the tears fell angrily. Johnny had never seen her cry so much in his life, and it hurt so much that he had to turn away. He tightened his arms around her and kissed her forehead, rubbing her arm with his thumb. He let her cry, and he could feel his shirt getting soaked with her tears. Tears escaped from his eyes as well, and Roxanne felt one land on her head, taking no reaction.

"It's okay, it's okay," he repeated, whispering softly. "I'm here now. Everything's going to be alright."

"I know," she said softly.

"I don't even know what to think of all this... How could someone do this to you? Did you even know the guy?"

"No, I didn't... And that's the thing that scares me the most... This is going to scar me for life," she said. Johnny knew that the tears wouldn't stop for a while and that he would need a new shirt by the end of the night.

"Don't say that, Roxanne. That will only happen if you let it happen. We're getting ready to have a baby, Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up, and I've got a huge surprise for you. You'll be so thrilled, you may forget all about this by then."

"I doubt that's going to happen, Johnny... This is a big deal. I can't just forget about something like this... What if he would have killed me?"

"He could have," said Johnny. "But that's why you need to be so thankful; I know I am. It's scary, I know. And trust me, I'd like to beat the living hell out of him until there's nothing left, and I probably will eventually. But he could have done worse. Do you know what I'm saying?"

"Y-yeah... I guess so. But for now, let's put it behind us... What is that big surprise you have planned for me, anyway?" she said, the frisky smile playing across her lips once more. Johnny winked at her.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now, would it? Let's just put that behind us right now, too. I have to tell you all about what happened to me... If you're interested."

"You're kidding, right? I've been worried sick about you. Tell me everything."

"I can do that... But let's get you cleaned up first," he said, kissing her cheek lightly as he walked to the bathroom. 


	16. Read it!

I'm going to delete this story and re-write it. (: 


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